Vacuum cleaner nozzle



Sept. 13, 1955 H. T. DRAUDT 2,717,409

VACUUM CLEANER NOZZLE Filed Sept. 15, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O00 HEPEE7 7 0/9/1007 Sept. 13, 1955H. T. DRAUDT 2,717,409

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United States PatentOflice VACUUM CLEANER NOZZLE Herbert T. Draudt,North Olmsted, Ohio Application September 15, 1950, Serial No. 185,074

11 Claims. (Cl. 15-369) This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and inparticular to vacuum cleaner suction nozzles which are adapted to rideover the surface of carpets, rugs and the Foreign matter or dirt of thetype sought to be removed from the surface of carpets by conventionalvacuum cleaners usually lodge (a) on the top surface of the rug nap asin the case of lint, animal hair, threads, etc.,

Patented Sept. 13, 1955 steps on the part of the operator. A furtherobject of my invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner nozzle whichpermits elficient vacuum cleaning of rugs in a minimum of time. Anotherobject is to provide a vacuum cleaning nozzle that is simple in design,economical to manufacture and which can be handled with facility andease by the operator.

of a preferred form of nozzle embodying my invention;

and/or (12) in the roots of the nap where the same joins the rug backingbelow the top surface of the rug as in the case of grit and sand. Aneffective method of removing the first type of foreign matter whichtends to cling to the nap is to employ a nozzle which draws in air athigh velocity over the surface being cleaned. A satisfactory andeffective method of removing the second type of dirt is to concentratethe suction force so that the flow of air passes upwardly through thecarpet or other surface being cleaned so as to dislodge and draw out theforeign particles embedded below the surface. These two methods ofcleaning may be accomplished by providing a relatively small opening ororifice or'series of small orifices in the surface contacting lip or rimof the nozzle and controlling the flow of air along the surface of therug through said openings by means of gates and the like. When thesesmall orifices are closed or substantially closed, the main forceofs'uction will be utilized for through rug cleaning to removesub-surface particles, and when they are open the suction will beeppliedto top surface cleaning since the resistance to flow of air throughthese small orifices will be less than through the body of the rug orcarpet. Since the size of the orifices is small in comparison to thesize of the main opening in the bottom of the nozzle, surface air willpass through the orifices at a relatively high velocity.

With the rug cleaning efiiciency that has been attained in modern vacuumcleaners, vacuum cleaning of rugs and the like has become a routinehousehold chore. The experienced operators attention is mainly concernedwith guiding the cleaner head or nozzle to the uncleaned portions of therug or carpet and in maneuvering the nozzle around furniture and otherobjects resting on the surface. Little if any attention is paid to theefliciency of the cleaning operation and as a result, if lint, animalhair, threads or the like are passed over by conventional nozzles theyare likely to remain on the rug. On the other hand, if the operatornotices such top surface particles, he or she must perform someadditional operation to remove same which interrupts and therefore slowsdown the whole cleaning operation.

I have overcome these disadvantages by providing a vacuum cleaner nozzlewhich effectively cleans both surface and sub-surface foreign particleswithout requiring additional attention from the operator or additionalsteps on the operators part during the cleaning operation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cleaningnozzle which readily removes foreign particles from the surface of andbelow the surface of rugs and carpets without additional attention orextra Figure 2 is a front elevation of the nozzle of Figure l withportions thereof cut away to show details of construction; Figure 3 is abottom view of the nozzle of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a view similar toFigure 3 with certain parts removed, the nozzle housing alone being liketo remove dirt and other foreign particles therefrom.

shown; Figure 5 is a transverse section of the nozzle taken on the line5--5 of Figure 2 and showing the gate in the open position; Figure 6 isa transverse section similar to Figure 5 showing the gate in the closedposition;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 7--7 ofFigure 2; Figure 8 is a front view of a pivot and guide block which forma part of my invention; Figure 9 is a side elevation of the block ofFigure 6 as viewed along the line 9-9 of Figure 8; Figure 10 is a rearelevation of a gate which forms a part of my invention; Figure 11 is anend view of the gate of Figure 10; Figure 12 is a front elevation of anagitator element which forms a part of my invention; Figure 13 is atransverse section showing a modified form of my improved nozzle; Figure14 is a transverse section taken on the line'14-14 of Figure 15 showinganother form of nozzle; Figure 15 is a fragmentary rear elevation of-thenozzle ofFigure 14; Figure 16 is a fragmentary front elevation ofanother modified nozzle, a portion thereof being cut 5-; away to showthe details of construction; and Figure 17 is a transverse section takenon the line 17-17 of Figure 16.

It is usual practice in vacuum cleaning rugs and carpets for theoperator to guide the cleaner nozzle over the surfaces being cleaned ina series of reciprocating movements and gradually advancing the nozzleuntil the entire area has been covered. In order to clean both surfaceand sub-surface foreign particlesfrom rugs, carpets and the like, I haveprovided a nozzle of the general design heretofore described whichincludes a gate or other closure means for controlling flow of highvelocity surface air into the nozzle and an agitator member which coactswith the gate in such a manner asto scrape and comb the rug surface andloosen threads, lint, and the like so that these particles will bereadily picked up by the high velocity stream and carried into thenozzle; More specifically, the

agitator member is mounted on the nozzle head with the agitator tips incontact with the surface of the rug when the nozzle is in properposition for cleaning and with the agitator member free to pivot withrespect to the nozzle in response to movements of the nozzle over thesurface. The gate is actuated to open and close the high velocityorifices in the nozzle by the agitator member which at the same timeworks and loosens the surface particles adjacent the orifices so thatwhen the orifices are open the lint, threads, etc., are carried by thehigh velocity surface flow through the orifices and into the nozzle. For

example, on the forward stroke of the nozzle over the 3 member pivots inthe opposite direction to move the gate to the open position and againscrapes and loosens the surface particles so that same are picked up andcarried by the high velocity stream through the small orifices into thenozzle.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to Figures 1 and 2, apreferred form of my improved nozzle comprises an elongated housing 1open on its underside with a main inlet orifice 16 which is adapted tolie adjacent the top surface of the rug or carpet R to be cleaned andhaving its upper portion closed by a top wall 2 which is embossed asindicated at 2a and provided with an outlet passageway 3 therein whichcommunicates with a vacuum source, not shown, through a conventionalhollow wand or handle, not shown. Extending downwardly from top wall 2and transversely of the embossed portion 2a are laterally spaced frontand rear walls 4 and 6 and a middle wall 11. The front wall 4 has astraight continuous bottom edge or lip 5 joining curved bottom end edges5a and bottom end surface 5b, all in the same plane and defining in partthe main inlet orifice 16. The middle wall 11 terminates at its bottomends in short lips or edges 12 in the plane of the orifice 16 andjoining into the surfaces 5b. The central portion of the middle wall 11is notched between the lips 12 and defines a narrow elongated orifice 13controlled by the gate 18. The front,

end and middle walls define the main suction chamber 15 of the nozzlethrough which air passes from the inlet orifices 13 and 16 to the outletpassageway 3. The rear wall 6 may be formed with a smooth fiat exteriorsurface 7 with threaded bolt holes 8 to permit the housing to beconnected to an auxiliary swivel carriage unit, not shown, forsupporting the nozzle in position adjacent the rug surface. The use of asupporting carriage on the rear of the housing is optional, but ismentioned and provided for to illustrate and facilitate the desirablemaintenance of the orifice 16 in the plane of the carpet. The carriagetends to support the wand more or less and add to the.

feel that tells the operator when the orifice departs from its bestrelation to rug or carpet. The nozzle is manipulated and operated bymeans of the hollow wand or handle inserted in passageway 3 andconnected to the housing in a suitable manner to permit the nozzle toswivel on the end of the wand. I prefer that my nozzle have substantialfore and aft depth of rug contact, Figures 1, 3-6, to facilitateparallelism between the orifice 16 and the surface to be cleaned and forthe feel mentioned in connection with the use of the auxiliary carriage,especially when the latter is not employed.

The rear wall 6 may at its extreme ends terminate in short lips 9 in theplane of the orifice 16 and lips 5, 5a, 5b

and 12, but throughout the major portion of its length the rear wallterminates short of the plane of the orifice.

16, being notched longitudinally and defining with the surface to becleaned an orifice 10 preferably larger than the orifice 13. The rearwall 6 is also perforated as at 10a. The rear wall 6 defines with themiddle wall 11 a chamber 14 within which are disposed the gate 18 andits actuating mechanism and agitator 3% presently to be described. Thechamber 14 is closed at its top by the wall 14a and is open at thebottom. The apertures 10a open to the upper portion of the chamber 14and permit air to move therethrough along with the air entering throughthe orifice it to feed the orifice 13 when the gate 18 is open as shownin Figure 5. The chamber 14 communicates with the chamber 15 onlythrough the orifice 13 when the gate 18 opens the orifice 13 tofacilitate high velocity surface cleaning. Air entering the chamber 14through the apertures 10a flows downwardly and across the chamber 14tending to clean the upper parts of the chamber and its contents. Airpassing from the orifice 10 to the orifice 13 tends to flow withincreasing speed from the former to the latter and between andtransversely of the projections 41} of the agitator 39, Figure 5,tending to clean the agitator. I prefer that the aggregate area of theorifices 1t) and 10a be so substantially greater than the orifice 13that substantially maximum air movement at maximum velocity through theorifice 13 will not be impaired.

The orifice 13 in the center wall 11 constitutes an auxiliary opening inthe housing adjacent the surface being cleaned which permits highvelocity air flow to pass from the exterior of the nozzle along the rugsurface into front chamber 15. As heretofore mentioned, the highvelocity of surface flow results from constricted flow through therelatively small orifice 13 which, by way of example, may be aboutinches high by 6-7 inches long, and in all events substantially of thesame area as the outlet passage 3. The effect of this flow is thatsurface lint and other similar clinging matter in the path of the highvelocity stream will be dislodged from the nap of the carpet or rug andcarried into the chamber 15 and finally into the dirt receptacleassociated with the cleaner. However, the through rug cleaningefficiency of the nozzle is materially reduced when this auxiliaryopening 13 is open. It is therefore desirable that the auxiliary surfaceopening be closed during at least a part of the cleaning operation.

As discussed above the cleaning of a rug by a vacuum cleaner is usuallyaccomplished by a series of forward and rearward strokes of the nozzleover this surface. I have found that if the auxiliary opening in thenozzle head is closed during half of the cleaning cycle, for example, onthe forward stroke, and is open on the other half of the cycle, that is,on the rearward stroke, both surface and sub-surface foreign particleswill be effectively removed. To effect opening and closing of theauxiliary opening during a cleaning cycle, I have provided an elongatedgate member 18 in rear chamber 14 of thehousing adjacent center wall 11and the orifice 13 therein. Gate 18 is angle shaped having a smoothbottom flange 19 integral with a vertically extending wall portion 20,see Figures 10 and 11. Guide arms 21 project from each end of Wallportion 20 to guide the gate in substantially vertical movements acrossorifice 13 of center wall 11. Gate actuating lugs 22 are formed on eachof the guide arms 21 and project rearwardly therefrom to engage slots 36in forwardly facing ears 34. of.

the agitator assembly 25 as will be described in detail later. Anotherlug 23 is formed on each of the arms 21 7 adjacent the gate actuatinglugs 22 and project rearwardly into slots 51-formed in stationary guideblocks 26, see Figures 7, 8 and 9, located at opposite ends of rearhousing chamber 14 and cooperate therewith to limit the extent ofvertical movement of the gate member. Slots 51 in the guide blocks 26are of proper length to permit gate member 18 to close orifice 13 at thelower limit of movement, that is, with bottom flange 19 lying in theplane of center wall bottom edge 12, and to open the orifice at theupper limit of movement, that is, with bottom flange 19 spaced above thesurface being cleaned by a distance at least as great as the height oforifice 13.,

The length of gate member 18 is slightly greater than the length oforifice 13 so that the gate effectively blocks the flow of airtherethrough when the gate is moved to a closed position over the slot.The rounded bottom surface on flange 19 offers a minimum of resistanceto the sliding of the nozzle over the surface being cleaned when thegate has been lowered to the closed position.

In order to actuate the movement of gate member '18 between the open andclosed positions, an agitator assembly generally indicated at 25 ispivotally connected to blocks 26 so as to pivot or swing about an axissubstantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle. Theagitator assembly 25 consists of elongated angle members 27 and 28, eachhaving vertical portions 29 and 30 and horizontal flanges 31 and 32,respectively. Members 27 and 28 are fastened together by screws 33 sothat the vertical portions 29 and 30 of each lie adjacent each other andform a rigid channel shaped assembly as shown. Each end of member 27 hasan ear 34 formed integrally therewith and bent or folded at right anglesto project transversely of portion 29. The ears 34 have pivot holes 35formed therein and have slots 36 formed on the rounded outer edges 37thereof for engaging the gate actuating lugs 22 on the gate member 18.It will be noted that the slots 36 are formed to converge inwardlytoward the outer edges 37, that is, the slots 36 are narrower at thepoint adjacent the edges 37 than at points remote from the edges,whereby to permit vertical movement of lugs 22 as the ears 34 arerotated without binding or jamming of same in the slots. The edges 37 ofthe ears are rounded as shown to permit free movement of the gateinvertical directions without interference from the ears.

An agitator 39 comprising a plurality of spaced conical projections ortips is secured to the underside of flange 32 so that the tips 40 extenddownwardly and contact the surface being cleaned at all times during thecleaning cycle. Although the tips 40 may be formed of short relativelystifi projections of animal hair or the like suitably secured to flange32. I prefer to form or mold the agitator 39 from a suitable wearresistant resilient material such as rubber of the type used inautomobile tires and to make the tips 40 integral with the agitator.Each of the tips 40 tapers slightly toward its end to promoteflexibility and because of its composition is particularly well adaptedto resist the wear which results from constant contact with the surfacebeing cleaned. The agitator 39 preferably has two rows of tips 40, thetips in each row being spaced from each other and staggered withrelation to the projections in the adjacent row.

With this arrangement of agitator tips, resistance to the fiow of highvelocity surface air through the agitator is held to a minimum and alsoa space is provided into which each agitator projection may fold or bendwithout jamming against the adjacent projection in the other row. Thisform of air pervious agitator has the additional advantage ofeffectively scraping, combing and otherwise agitating the surface of thecarpet or rug so as to loosen hairs, threads and the like withoutbecoming entangled with same.

Stationary guide blocks 26 located at each end of the rear chamber 14are secured to the housing by means of screws 43 which pass throughsuitable apertures in rear wall 6 and threadedly engage appropriateholes in center wallll of the housing. Each block has a wall 44extending transversely of the rear chamber 14 which is drilled orotherwise formed to receive a pivot screw 45 which has a cylindricalprojection 46 extending beyond the outer surface of the wall to engagepivot hole 35 in the agitator assembly ears 34. The front wall 47 of theblock is disposed adjacent the center wall 11 of the housing and has atapered hole 48 through which securing screw 43 passes to hold the blocksecurely in place. The bottom surface 49 of the block is smooth and liesin the plane of the main opening 16.

Vertically extending guide slots 50, see. Figures 7, 8 and 9 are formedin the blocks 26 at the juncture of walls 44 and 47 to receive the guidearms 21 of the gate member 18 and to guidethe gate in its-verticalmovements. Slots 51 are also formed in front walls 47 of the blocks toreceive the stop lugs 23 of gate member 18, and t are of apredeterminedlength so as to limit the vertical movement of the gatebetween its open and closed positions. With this arrangement of securingblocks 42, the entire gate and agitator assemblies may be removed fromthe rear chamber 14 of the housing for repair or replacement of partssimply .by removal by the two screws 43 which hold the blocks 42 inposition.

In operation with the source of vacuum connected to the nozzle and thenozzle in position adjacent the surface of the rug, air is drawn upthrough the main opening 16 into front chamber 15 and passes to the dirtcatching receptacle of the cleaner. When the nozzle is moved in theforward direction as indicated by the arrow in Figure 6, the agitatortips 40 are swept rearwardly toward the rear wall 6 thereby causing theagitator assembly to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed inFigure 6 about the pivot projection 46. This pivoting movement causesears 34 on the agitator assembly to rotate in a similar directionthereby effecting the gateis pivoted against the rear wall. holdingmember 67 is likewise secured to pivot block downward movement of thegate by engagement of gate actuating lugs 22 on the gate 18 with slots36 in the ears; Gate member 18 moves downwardly until the gate stop lugs23 engage the bottom of slots 51 in blocks 26 at which time the lowersurface of the gate flange 18 will lie substantially in the plane of themain opening 16. In this position, gate member 18 effectively blocks thepassage of high velocity surface air through the auxiliary openings ororifices 10 and 13 in the housing walls. Thus on the forward stroke ofthe nozzle, the full force of suction of the vacuum cleaner is applieddirectly over the area of the carpet under the main opening 16 wherebyto draw air through the carpet as indicated by the small arrows inFigure 6 to remove sub-surface foreign particles from the rug R.

When the nozzle is moved over the carpet on the rearward stroke of thecleaning cycle'as shown in Figure 5, the reverse action takes place.Agitator tips 40 are moved forwardly toward center wall 11 of thehousing, the agitator assembly rotates in a clockwise direction aboutthe pivot projection 46, and slots 36 in the agitator ears 34 moveupwardly and effect a corresponding movement of the gate. The upwardmovement of the gate member 18 is limited by engagement of the stop lugs23 on the gatewith the top of the slots 51 in blocks 26. At this upperlimit of movement the bottom edge of gate flange 19 is preferably evenwith the top edge of the center wall orifice 13 and the orifice isthereby open. With the gate so positioned, air will be drawn into frontchamber 15 of the nozzle at high velocity along the top surface of therug through orifices 10 and 13 in the rear and center walls 6 and 11,respectively, whereby to pick up'and effectively remove surface dirtthat has been loosened by the agitator tips 40 in advance of theorifices. Another form of my invention is illustrated in Figure 13wherein the nozzle housing 55 has a front wall 56 terminating in asurface contacting lip 57 and a rear wall 58 with a similar lip 59 lyingin the plane of lip 57. A tubular coupling 60 is provided to connect thenozzle to a vacuum source and communicates with chamber 61 defined bythe front and rear walls of the housing. Lip 59 of rear wall 58 has atransverse opening therein preferably in the form of a plurality ofspaced inverted U-shaped slots or orifices 62 similar to slots 83 and 92shown in Figures 15 and'16 and which extend longitudinally along rearwall 58.

In order to control'the flow of high velocity surface air throughorifices 62, a gate 63 is secured to a pivotblock 64 which in turn ispivotally supported on rear wall flange 65 by means of pins 66. Thebottom edge of gate 63 is formed with a plurality of spaced slots, notshown, which correspond in number, size and shape to slots '62 in rearwall lip 59 but which are offset from the slots 62 so as to block andseal the lip slots when An agitator 64 and has a plurality of downwardlydepending spaced agitator tips 68 which extend longitudinally of gate 63v in contact with the surface being cleaned. The tips 68 are spaced tolessen the resistance to the flow of high velocity air therethrough. Inorder to limit outward pivoting of the gate from the orifices 62, ascrew 69 is provided, which projects from front wall 56 and engagesblock 64 at its outer limit of movement.

The operation of this nozzle is substantially the same in principle tothat described in connection with a nozzle of Figure 1, except that thegate 63 pivots about the axis of pivot pin 66 toward and away from theopening 62 in the rear wall lip in response to movement of the, nozzlein forward and reverse directions over the surface being cleaned. Thus,during the forward movement of the nozzle over the surface, agitatortips 68 will be moved to the right as viewed in Figure 13 and the gatewill pivot against orifices 62 to close same and the nozzle will drawair through the carpet in the manner previously described. When thenozzle is moved rearwardly, the parts will assume the position shown inFigure 13 with the gate removed from the openings to admit high velocitysurface flow through the openings 62 into chamber 61 whereby toeffectively remove surface particles from the rug surface.

Another form of my invention illustrated in Figures 14 and 15 is similarin principle of operation to the nozzle of Figure 1 except that the gateand agitator members are mounted exteriorly of the nozzle. Secured tothe rear wall 71 of housing is an angle member 72 which has one leg 73projecting outwardly from the Wall 71. A pivot pin 74 which extendstransversely through leg 73 provides pivotal support for agitatorassembly 75 which consists of a backing member 76, an agitator holder 77secured thereto and brush tips 78 depending downwardly from the brushholder and engaging the surface being cleaned. The backing member hasears 79 which correspond generally to the cars 34 of the agitatorassembly 25 described in connection with the nozzle of Figure 1 andlikewise has a converging forwardly facing slot 80 for engaging a lug 81on thegate 82. The angle member 72 is provided with guide slots, notshown, on its inner face to guide the gate 82 in vertical movementsadjacent the rear wall 71 of the housing 70 and to limit verticalmovements of the gate between positions for opening and closing aplurality of inverted U-shaped slots or orifices 83 in the bottom edgeof the rear wall. The control of air through orifices 83 is effected inthe same manner as described in connection with Figure 1,. the gatebeing actuated between orifice open and orifice closed positions by thepivotal movements of the agitator assembly 75 in response to forward andrearward stroking movements of the nozzle relative to the surface beingcleaned.

Still another modified form of my invention is shown in Figures 16 and17 wherein pivotal movement of the agitator in the direction of forwardand rearward stroking of the nozzle actuates movement of the gateparallel to the longitudinal axis of the nozzle housing for opening andclosing auxiliary openings or orifices in the nozzle lip. As shown, theagitator assembly 85 is pivotally mounted on a support block 86 securedto the front wall 87 of the nozzle housing 88. The agitator assembly hasan ear 89 corresponding to ears 34 and 79 heretofore described which hasa rearwardly facing converging slot 90 for actuating the gate 91 mountedfor sliding movement against the inner surface of rear wall 93.

Movement of the gate 91 parallel to rear wall 93 for controlling theflow of high velocity air through a plurality of slots or orifices 92 inthe bottom edge of rear wall 93 is accomplished by means of a bell crank94 pivotally connected to a block 95 which is secured to the rear wall.The bell crank 94 is arranged to pivot about an axis transversely of thelongitudinal axis of the nozzle and has one arm 96 bent over at its endas at 97 to project into the opening 99 of the car 89. The other arm 98of the bell crank extends at right angles from arm 96 and terminates ina bent end 99 which projects into a slot 100 in the gate 91. T hits, asarm 96 of the bell crank is caused to move in vertical directions by thepivotal action of car 89, the other arm 98 of the bell crank will pivotthrough a path parallel to rear wall 93 and move gate 91 in the samedirection by virtue of engagement of the arm 98 with gate slot 199. Theblock 95 is formed to-support the gate 9.1 for sliding movement in thisdirection and to limit movement of the gate for opening and closingorifices 92 in the rear wall.

The auxiliary opening or orifices 92 in rear wall 93 are spaced as shownin Figure 16 and in a similar manner the gate 91 is formed withaplurality of inverted U-shaped slots 101 which correspond substantiallyin number, size and shape to the orifices 92. When the gate is movedlongitudinally of the nozzle and parallel to rear wall 93 to the openposition, gate openings 101 will be aligned with orifices 92 to permitthe passage of high velocity air therethrough and effect surfacecleaning of the rug br carpet. to the closed position, the solidportions 192 separating the gate slots 191 will be aligned with orifices92 whereby to block and seal same against the fiow of high velocitysurface air therethrough.

The principle of operation of the modified form of nozzle shown inFigures 16 and 17 is the same as previously described, the orifices 92in the rear wall 93 being open when the nozzle is moved rearwardly overthe rug surface in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 17 andbeing closed when the nozzle is moved forwardly.

The advantages of my improved vacuum cleaner nozzle may be attained byother variations of the nozzle structure. For example, the position ofthe various agitator assemblies may be reversed with respect to theirmounting on the nozzle so as to cause the gate in each instance to openon the forward stroke of the nozzle rather than the rearward stroke asdescribed. Also, it is possible to reverse the positions of the agitatorassembly and gate with respect to each as Well as to dispose the gateinteriorly and the agitator exteriorly of the housing. It is apparentthat other changes may be made to the nozzles herein described andillustrated without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my inventionand therefore I do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments ofmy invention as shown and described. The essential features of theinvention are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A vacuum cleaner nozzle comprising a housing having a main openingadapted to be placed in cleaning position adjacent the surface to becleaned and at least one auxiliary opening joining said main opening andproviding communication between said main opening and the exterior of.the nozzle when the nozzle is in said cleaning position, said mainopening lying substantially in the plane of the surface to be cleaned,the plane of said auxiliary opening being substantially normal to theplane of said surface, means for opening and closing said auxiliaryopening comprising a gate co-extensive with said auxiliary opening andmovable relative to said housing, an agitator.

member having a plurality of elongated flexible spaced projectionscontacting the surface to be cleaned adjacent said auxiliary opening,said agitator member being connected to said housing for pivoting abouta fixed axis in response to movement of said nozzle over said surface,said axis extending transversely of the direction of said movement ofsaid nozzle over said surface, said agitator member being operativelyconnected to said gate whereby pivotal movement of said member causessaid gate to open and close said auixiliary opening.

2. A vacuum cleaner nozzle comprising a housing having a main openingadapted to be placed in cleaning position adjacent a surface to becleaned and at least one auxiliary opening joining said main opening andproviding communication between said main opening and the exterior ofthe nozzle when the nozzle is in said cleaning position, said mainopening lying substantially in the plane of the surface to be cleaned,the plane of said auxiliary open- When the gate is moved in the reversedirection gate spaced above said plane of the main openingby a distanceat least equal to the height of said auxiliary opening, an agitatormember having a plurality of spaced projections contacting the surfaceto be cleaned adjacent said auxiliary opening, said agitator memberbeing connected to said housing for pivoting about an axis in responseto movement of said nozzle over said surface, said am's extendingtransversely of the direction of said movement of said nozzle over saidsurface, said agitator member being operatively connected to said gatewhereby pivotal movement of said member causes said gate to open andclose said auxiliary opening.

3. A vacuum cleaner nozzle adapted to be moved forwardly and rearwardlyover the surface of a rug or the like for cleaning same, comprising ahousing having a closed upper portion and spaced front, rear and centerwalls depending from said upper portion and each terminating in asurface contacting edge, said front and center wall edges defining amain opening in said nozzle having communication with a source ofvacuum, said rear and center walls having auxiliary openings thereinextending upwardly from and intersecting the respective edges of therear and center walls, a gate disposed adjacent said center wall betweensaid rear and center walls, means for supporting said gate on saidhousing for movement normal to said surface between positions out of andin alignment with said auxiliary openings, said gate in said positionsrespectively opening and closing said auxiliary openings to the surfaceflow of air therethrough, a surface contacting member mounted on saidhousing for pivoting about an axis in response to reversals in directionof movement of said nozzle over said surface, said member engaging saidgate to move same toward and away from said surface in response tomovement of said nozzle forwardly and rearwardly over said surface.

4. The nozzle according to claim 3 in which the bottom edge of said gateat one limit of movement thereof lies substantially in the plane of saidmain opening and at the other limit of movement is spaced above the saidplane of the main opening by a distance at least equal to the height ofsaid opening in said center wall.

5. The nozzle according to claim 3 in which said surface contactingmember is disposed between said center wall and said rear wall.

6. The nozzle according to claim 1 in which said gate and said agitatormember are connected together and are mounted on said housing forsimultaneous pivotal movement about said fixed axis and relative to saidhousing.

7. The nozzle according to claim 6 in which said auxiliary openingconsists of a plurality of spaced slots formed in the portion of saidhousing adjacent said surface, said gate having similarly formed slotsin the portion thereof adjacent said surface, said gate slots and saidhousing slots being misaligned whereby the portions of said gateintermediate the gate slots block said housing slots when said nozzle ismoved over said surface in at least one direction transversely of thepivotal axis of said gate and said agitator member.

8. The nozzle according to claim 1 in which said housing has a front andrear wall each terminating in a lower edge, said wall edges definingsaid main opening, said gate being supported on the exterior of one ofsaid walls for movement normal to the plane of the surface beingcleaned, said agitator member being pivotally mounted exteriorly of saidhousing.

9. The nozzle according to claim 1 in which said housing has a closedupper portion and a front wall and a rear wall depending from said upperportion, each of said walls terminating in a lower edge adapted tocontact said surface, said edges of said Walls defining said mainopening in said housing, the edge of one of said walls having saidauxiliary opening formed therein, said gate being disposed adjacent saidone of said walls and being supported for movement parallel to saidfixed axis of said agitator member and across said auxiliary opening,said gate also having a slot formed in the bottom edge thereof adjacentthe surface to be cleaned, and means for actuating movement of said gaterelative to said one wall in response to pivotal movement of saidagitator member about said axis whereby pivoting of said agitator memberin one direction causes said gate to close said auxiliary opening andpivoting of the agitator member in the opposite direction causes saidgate to open said auxiliary opening.

10. The nozzle according to claim 9 in which said means consists of abell crank pivotally connected to said housing, said crank having onearm engaging said agitator member and another arm engaging said gatewhereby pivotal movement of said agitator member causes said crank topivot parallel to the fixed axis of said agitator member to move saidgate for opening and closing said auxiliary opening.

11. The nozzle according to claim 3 in which said gate has a lugprojecting therefrom, said member having an ear portion projectingtoward said gate in alignment with said lug, said ear portion having arecess formed therein into which said lug is adapted to extend, pivotalmovement of said member about said axis causing said ear portion to rockcorrespondingly and to induce vertical movement of said gate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS GreatBritain May 19, 1939

